| Emin's shrike | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Laniidae |
| Genus: | Lanius |
| Species: | L. gubernator |
| Binomial name | |
| Lanius gubernator Hartlaub, 1882 | |
Emin's shrike (Lanius gubernator) is a species of passerine bird in the family Laniidae, the shrikes. This species has a scattered distribution across Africa from the Ivory Coast east to South Sudan and Uganda.
Emin’s shrike was first formally described in 1882 by the German physician and ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub with its type locality given as “Central Africa”, later determined to be Langomeri in the Nile Province of Uganda by Shelley in 1912. [2] This species has a plumage which resembles that of the Palearctic migrant red-backed shrike (L. collurio) and it was thought that Emin’s shrike was a basal member of that lineage. However, the plumage similarity does not necessarily indicate a close relationship and Emin’s shrike was found, in phylogenetic molecular analyses, to be nested within the L. collaris species complex and to be most closely related to Mackinnon's shrike (L. mackinnoni). [3] The genus Lanius , of which Emin’s shrike is a member, is classified within the family Laniidae which sits within the superfamily Corvoidea, part of the clade Corvides in the suborder Passeri of the order Passeriformes. [4]
Emin’s shrike belongs to the genus Lanius, this name is derived from the Latin for butcher, some shrikes are known colloquially as “butcherbirds” for their habit of storing prey by impaling it on thorns or spikes. The specific name, gubernator, means “governor”, and this, and its common name, refer to Emin Pasha, the German-born Ottoman governor of the Egyptian province of Equatoria on the upper Nile. [5] Emin Pasha collected the collected four types used by Hartlaub to write his description. [3]
Emin's shrike is similar in plumage to the red-backed shrike but it is smaller and darker. It has a black mask from the base of the bill through the eye to the ear coverts which separates the grey crown and nape from the white throat. The upperparts are brown without the grey rump shown by the red-backed shrike and the breast, belly and undertail coverts are datk buff rather tha the red-backed shrike's pinkish underparts. [6] The black tail has white sides and a white tip and there is an obvious patch of white on the primaries. This is not a highly sexually dimorphic species , the females are duller versions of the males with a browner back and and the grey head having a brownish tinge. The juveniles are brownish barred with blackish on the upper parts with blackish barred pale tawny underparts. This is the smallest species in the genus Lanius with a length of 14 or 15 cm (5.5 or 5.9 in). [3]
Emin's shrike is found in western and north central Africa and has a scattered distribution which lies in a broken belt to the north of the equator. It can be found in Mali in the Niger inland delta and on the Séno Plain and the Ivory Coast, mostly in Comoé National Park east to South Sudan and northern Uganda. Breeding has been confirmed only in Nigeria, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo but this species has been recorded from the Central African Republic and Benin as well as the aforementioned states. there are no records from Togo or Burkina Faso, but the species may have been overlooked in these countries. [3] This is a species of savanna, gallery forest, open woodland and forest clearings including old carable fields and abandoned settlements. [7]
Emin's shrike is a little known species. It has been recorded forming small parties at certain times of the year but it is mainy recorded as single birds or in pairs. The birds are usually conspicuous as they perch up in the tops of bushes or on utility cables. Its hunting technique is typical of shrikes, catching food on the ground by swooping from a perch, also occasionally hawking prey in the air. The nests and eggs of Emin's shrike are unknown. The confirmed breeding records involve fledgelings being fed by adults, juveniles with barred plumage have been seen in the Democratic Republic of Congo in July, suggesting that reeding starts with the onset of the reains in March and April. [7]
The great grey shrike is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike, the Chinese grey shrike and the American loggerhead shrike. Males and females are similar in plumage, pearly grey above with a black eye-mask and white underparts.
The red-backed shrike is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family, Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of tropical Africa and southern Africa.
The woodchat shrike is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It can be identified by its red-brown crown and nape. It is mainly insectivorous and favours open wooded areas with scattered trees such as orchards, particularly when there is bare or sandy ground. The woodchat shrike breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa.
The isabelline shrike or Daurian shrike is a member of the shrike family (Laniidae). It was previously considered conspecific with the red-backed shrike and red-tailed shrike. It is found in an extensive area between the Caspian Sea and north and central China southeast to the Qaidam Basin. Overwinters in Africa and Arabia.
The lesser grey shrike is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It breeds in South and Central Europe and western Asia in the summer and migrates to winter quarters in southern Africa in the early autumn, returning in spring. It is a scarce vagrant to western Europe, including Great Britain, usually as a spring or autumn erratic.
The masked shrike is a species of bird in the shrike family, Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in eastern Iraq and western Iran. It is migratory, wintering mainly in northeast Africa. Although it is a short-range migrant, vagrants have occurred widely elsewhere, including northern and western Europe. It is the smallest member of its genus, long-tailed and with a hooked bill. The male has mainly black upperparts, with white on its crown, forehead and supercilium and large white patches on the shoulders and wings. The throat, neck sides and underparts are white, with orange flanks and breast. The female is a duller version of the male, with brownish black upperparts and a grey or buff tone to the shoulders and underparts. The juvenile has grey-brown upperparts with a paler forehead and barring from the head to rump, barred off-white underparts and brown wings аpart from the white primary patches. The species' calls are short and grating, but the song has melodic warbler-like components.
The yellow-billed shrike is a large passerine bird in the shrike family. It is sometimes known as the long-tailed shrike, but this is to be discouraged, since it invites confusion with the long-tailed shrike, Lanius schach, of tropical southern Asia. The yellow-billed shrike is a common resident breeding bird in tropical Africa from Senegal eastwards to Uganda and locally in westernmost Kenya. It frequents forest and other habitats with trees.
Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family Laniidae. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.
The tiger shrike or thick-billed shrike is a small passerine bird which belongs to the genus Lanius in the shrike family, Laniidae. It is found in wooded habitats across eastern Asia. It is a shy, often solitary bird which is less conspicuous than most other shrikes. Like other shrikes it is predatory, feeding on small animals. Its nest is built in a tree and three to six eggs are laid.
The Taita fiscal or Teita fiscal is a member of the shrike family found in east Africa from southeastern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and western Somalia to northeastern Tanzania. Its habitat is dry open thornbush and acacia and other dry open woodland.
The bull-headed shrike is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the shrike family Laniidae.
The black-backed puffback is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae. They are common to fairly common sedentary bushshrikes in various wooded habitats in Africa south of the equator. They restlessly move about singly, in pairs or family groups, and generally frequent tree canopies. Like others of its genus, the males puff out the loose rump and lower back feathers in display, to assume a remarkable ball-like appearance. They draw attention to themselves by their varied repertoire of whistling, clicking and rasping sounds. Their specific name cubla, originated with Francois Levaillant, who derived it from a native southern African name, where the "c" is an onomatopoeic click sound. None of the other five puffback species occur in southern Africa.
The southern white-crowned shrike is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry savannah.
The grey-backed fiscal is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
Mackinnon's shrike, also called Mackinnon's fiscal, is a songbird species of the family Laniidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and moist savanna. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.The population of this species is increasing, which is thought to be due to the degradation of nearby habitat. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate Archibald Donald MacKinnon.
The Uhehe fiscal is a bird in the family Laniidae. It is endemic to the uplands of southern and eastern Tanzania. Some taxonomic authorities treat this species as a subspecies of the southern fiscal.
The Somali fiscal is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. Other common names include the Karoli fiscal, the Somali fiscal shrike and the Somali shrike. The bird is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, as well as in Kenya in the African Great Lakes region. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Souza's shrike is a species of passerine bird in the family Laniidae, the shrikes. It is thought to be a mainly sedentary species that is found in miombo woodland in southern central Africa. It was named after Portuguese zoologist José Augusto de Sousa.
The grey-backed shrike is a bird in the family Laniidae inhabiting South-east Asia.
The red-tailed shrike or Turkestan shrike is a member of the shrike family (Laniidae). It was formerly considered conspecific with the isabelline shrike and the red-backed shrike.
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